[Coworking] Townsvilles Newest Co-Working Space

[Josh Roberts - Co. Habitat Co-Working Space]

Hello EVERYONE,

My name is Josh Roberts and I am working at opening a new vibrant 
co-working space in Townsville, Queensland.

The space I am looking at is 400m^2 with a few private offices, large open 
area, large recently renovated kitchen and an outdoor entertaining 
area...All in all it is pretty sweet.

There are two major questions I have at this point.

How do people that have started successful spaces feel about going into 
somewhere so big to start?

Secondly, I have been promoting, engaging and talking to people for months. 
To date I have managed to get one base tenant.

Does anyone have suggestions as to what I can do to get more people 
committed before I open?

Our website is www.cohabitat.com.au

We are on Facebook, Instagram and twitter. We even have a Kickstarter to 
help get us started (bit.ly/cohabitat).


I look forward to any advice, suggestions and help people can provide.

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Successful Coworking Spaces for Women

[Alex Hillman]

Big +1 to everything Jamie said here.




--
*The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten

On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 4:40 PM, Jamie Russo 
wrote:

> Hi Elizabeth, there was a similar discussion in the GCUC group on FB today
> - I'm pasting my reply:
>
> It sounds like you're looking for data vs. examples of spaces. The current
> GWA Industry Financial survey (see separate post on the survey), includes a
> question that asks if your space is "niche" or "generic." We will cut this
> data by revenue and profit per square foot and do some other number
> crunching to see if this seems to have an impact. My hope is that we have a
> large enough sample size to make this determination. Please encourage folks
> to fill out the survey!
>
> My personal opinion (not fact :-))  is that as spaces proliferate, it will
> be harder to stand out and having a story and a focus will help to attract
> members. I do not think *just* being a niche space is the answer though -
> you have to have all of the other pieces right as well - the right
> product/service mix, the right location, the right staff, etc. But at some
> point, people will be trying to make sense of the noise and a niche
> positioning will help.
>
> I caution you to do ALL the homework on the childcare topic - that is a
> really tough nut to crack in terms of regulations. A lot of spaces have
> tried to do this and have not been successful because of the regulations.
>
> And make sure the coworking model works outside of it being focused on a
> specific audience. There's a new space just announced in San Francisco for
> women...it's 4,000 square feet and can hold 50 members at any given time.
> In my experience, a 4,000 square foot space is about the smallest you can
> go and still pay for someone to manage it..and it's not big enough to pay
> your rent if you manage it without another job :-). And if you don't have
> private offices (the SF space is in a house so I'm guessing it does not),
> you're taking a pretty big bet on recruiting all open space members. Make
> sure you do some really good market research on what your members need in
> terms of meeting room/phone booth space and make sure they can actually do
> their work in the space. No matter how much they want to be a part of a
> tribe, they need to be able to run their business in the space you provide.
>
> On Sunday, April 9, 2017 at 1:18:31 PM UTC-7, Elizabeth Jackson wrote:
>>
>> Hello All,
>>
>>
>> I started the ground work to introduce a women-focused coworking space in
>> Prince George's County in Maryland; a suburb of Washington, DC. I have
>> pitched the coworking space to investors and county development officials
>> as I have gone far enough with my own funding and crowdfunding campaigns
>> and have secured a two-story building, insurance, and furniture on my own
>> :-). Although I have done this on my own; I have encountered a lot of
>> hesitation about this concept due to the fact that it is a women-centric
>> space. The goal is not to exclude men because we need men too, but to focus
>> on the unique needs of women led business (we will offer childcare on the
>> 1st floor and video/podcasting suites just to name a few non-traditional
>> amenities). I am often told to be "broader" but, I have done my research
>> and women entrepreneurs in this county lead the charge in opening new
>> businesses. Also, there are so many other coworking spaces that skew
>> towards male founders in the DC metro area and women often share that these
>> spaces really don't fit their needs, and a little balance would be awesome.
>> So far I have over 300 (more joining each day) women interested in joining
>> a coworking space for women (we will open up membership pre-sales in July)
>> from my meetup group and I intend to have building renovations completed on
>> the building by Fall of 2017. My intuition is telling me YES!!! but, I
>> would like to have data to validate it can be successful to those who don't
>> believe that a women-led and focused coworking space can be successful.
>>
>>
>> Here are some examples of successful coworking spaces for women that are
>> similar to the one I am opening:
>>
>> Open For Business 
>>
>> Behind the Grind 
>>
>> COTERIE 
>>
>> HeraHub DC 
>>
>>
>> Here are the questions I have for the group:
>>
>>
>> Are there any metrics available that can show whether this model is
>> successful or not?
>>
>> What are some of the biggest challenges to that you had to overcome?
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Liz
>>
>>
>> (Please excuse any typos)
>>
>>
>> --
> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
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Re: [Coworking] Coworking Revenue Sharing Model Proposal

[Jamie Russo]

I would add to Alex's excellent notes about the impact on your community 
that it's also a big bet to go from 20 people in open space to 20k of open 
space...and to keep it sustainable. Most spaces are having to incorporate 
private/team rooms when you get to that scale in order to sell enough 
memberships. I'm not the anti-open space/community lady, just the be 
realistic about your business model lady :-) If the 20k foot space doesn't 
already have offices, you'll have to talk the landlord into footing the 
buildout costs and you may need to pay him back before starting a revenue 
share as Barbara outlined. 

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 1:47:17 PM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> Business deals are just one side of this equation. 
>
> Just *doubling* a community in short time is hard. I've done it myself 
> more than once, and each time it's created more than a years worth of 
> cultural work just to recover from the impact of rapid growth. Going from a 
> 20 person setup (presuming ~2k sq ft) to 10x that sounds like suicide. 
>
> I was working with someone just yesterday who took over a space that had 
> just doubled in size and to fill it they made a TON of short term decisions 
> that they still haven't recovered from over a year later. Exponential 
> growth is extremely, extremely hard on communities. 
>
> Is there potential for you to take a smaller portion of that 20,000 sq ft 
> now, and potentially expand it incrementally over time? I'd be looking for 
> ways to develop that kind of deal where it's not  just designed to relieve 
> the pressure to make rent, but designed to relieve pressure of filling an 
> empty room. 
>
> -Alex
>
>
> --
> *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.*
> Better Coworkers: http://indyhall.org
> Weekly Coworking Tips: http://coworkingweekly.com
> My Audiobook: https://theindyhallway.com/ten
>
> On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 3:46 AM,  
> wrote:
>
>> Hello, Community.
>> I started a coworking space around 6 months ago, a small setup for 20 
>> people.
>> Fast forward today, the space is running at 50% capacity, break even and 
>> slightly cash flow positive.
>> I have an opportunity to expand to a 20,000 sq. ft space, where I have to 
>> pitch to the owner.
>>
>> Wondering if there are any proposals or deals which are already done by 
>> people here, and if you can share it with me?
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> -- 
>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
>> --- 
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>> "Coworking" group.
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>> email to coworking+...@googlegroups.com .
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>>
>
>

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[Coworking] Re: Successful Coworking Spaces for Women

[Jamie Russo]

Hi Elizabeth, there was a similar discussion in the GCUC group on FB today 
- I'm pasting my reply:

It sounds like you're looking for data vs. examples of spaces. The current 
GWA Industry Financial survey (see separate post on the survey), includes a 
question that asks if your space is "niche" or "generic." We will cut this 
data by revenue and profit per square foot and do some other number 
crunching to see if this seems to have an impact. My hope is that we have a 
large enough sample size to make this determination. Please encourage folks 
to fill out the survey! 

My personal opinion (not fact :-))  is that as spaces proliferate, it will 
be harder to stand out and having a story and a focus will help to attract 
members. I do not think *just* being a niche space is the answer though - 
you have to have all of the other pieces right as well - the right 
product/service mix, the right location, the right staff, etc. But at some 
point, people will be trying to make sense of the noise and a niche 
positioning will help. 

I caution you to do ALL the homework on the childcare topic - that is a 
really tough nut to crack in terms of regulations. A lot of spaces have 
tried to do this and have not been successful because of the regulations.

And make sure the coworking model works outside of it being focused on a 
specific audience. There's a new space just announced in San Francisco for 
women...it's 4,000 square feet and can hold 50 members at any given time. 
In my experience, a 4,000 square foot space is about the smallest you can 
go and still pay for someone to manage it..and it's not big enough to pay 
your rent if you manage it without another job :-). And if you don't have 
private offices (the SF space is in a house so I'm guessing it does not), 
you're taking a pretty big bet on recruiting all open space members. Make 
sure you do some really good market research on what your members need in 
terms of meeting room/phone booth space and make sure they can actually do 
their work in the space. No matter how much they want to be a part of a 
tribe, they need to be able to run their business in the space you provide.

On Sunday, April 9, 2017 at 1:18:31 PM UTC-7, Elizabeth Jackson wrote:
>
> Hello All, 
>
>
> I started the ground work to introduce a women-focused coworking space in 
> Prince George's County in Maryland; a suburb of Washington, DC. I have 
> pitched the coworking space to investors and county development officials 
> as I have gone far enough with my own funding and crowdfunding campaigns 
> and have secured a two-story building, insurance, and furniture on my own 
> :-). Although I have done this on my own; I have encountered a lot of 
> hesitation about this concept due to the fact that it is a women-centric 
> space. The goal is not to exclude men because we need men too, but to focus 
> on the unique needs of women led business (we will offer childcare on the 
> 1st floor and video/podcasting suites just to name a few non-traditional 
> amenities). I am often told to be "broader" but, I have done my research 
> and women entrepreneurs in this county lead the charge in opening new 
> businesses. Also, there are so many other coworking spaces that skew 
> towards male founders in the DC metro area and women often share that these 
> spaces really don't fit their needs, and a little balance would be awesome. 
> So far I have over 300 (more joining each day) women interested in joining 
> a coworking space for women (we will open up membership pre-sales in July) 
> from my meetup group and I intend to have building renovations completed on 
> the building by Fall of 2017. My intuition is telling me YES!!! but, I 
> would like to have data to validate it can be successful to those who don't 
> believe that a women-led and focused coworking space can be successful.
>
>
> Here are some examples of successful coworking spaces for women that are 
> similar to the one I am opening:
>
> Open For Business 
>
> Behind the Grind 
>
> COTERIE 
>
> HeraHub DC  
>
>
> Here are the questions I have for the group:
>
>
> Are there any metrics available that can show whether this model is 
> successful or not? 
>
> What are some of the biggest challenges to that you had to overcome?
>
>
> Best,
>
> Liz
>
>
> (Please excuse any typos) 
>
>
>

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[Coworking] Coming Soon ... Canoe Coworking!

[tara]

Hello Everyone,

I'm Tara and I'm opening up Canoe Coworking in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada! 
I have some great founding members and we look forward to building a robust 
community and space within the next year.

Looking forward to joining in and participating in the coworking world.

Tara


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[Coworking] Re: How RFID reader writer works?

[Matt G]

Hey Steve,

We use Nexudus as our member management system and it works wonders.

Originally we used a cheap RFID scanner and cards to check in members. Long 
story short you match enter the card details on the members profile, and 
then when the RFID scanner is swiped, it types in the unique ID for that 
member. We grabbed an old laptop donated to us, hid this behind a panel on 
the wall, then  put the RFID scanner below a monitor with the Check in 
screen on it so people could see the checkins of that day. 

We had to hack a little to get rid of admin info on that page so that 
sensitive data wasn't shown.

The issue we had was that whenever our internet would drop (we did have 
some connectivity issues at the time) as it is browser based, the browser 
would then go to a disconnected screen which meant that the check in system 
would be down until someone would boot up the laptop and get refresh the 
page. This was a pain in the ass. 

We now just use Nexudus's app on an iPad, and assign a 4 digit pin of the 
members choice! Handy thing is that we don't have that drop out issue with 
an ipad app.

Hope that helps a little.

Best,


Matt

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[Coworking] How RFID reader writer works?

[steve suard]

I want to add a tracking solution with RFID keyfob or card readers for 
members at the door entrance. I saw many affordable readers/writers using 
usb output for $20 on Ebay but there is no software to track member logs 
like how many time he logs in or set an expiration date so it bibs and 
staff will know that it's over for the membership.

Really lost! 

I know that my gym club have a similar system and want that.

Something else I'm considaring is a PC keypad connected to a PC with a 
tracking software. Each member have a 4 digit code, when he types in before 
entering the coworking space, it BIPs a nice sound then track his log, if 
his membership expired it will bip another sound, Do you know where I can 
find this software that track members, manage and use a simple PC keypad? 
(saw this in another gym club)

Thank you

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[Coworking] Re: Successful Coworking Spaces for Women

[Jen Luby]

Liz, just wanted to say that I'm doing something very similar in the 
Chicago suburbs. My argument is that most coworking spaces skew male in 
both membership numbers, amenities, and even aesthetic design. The needs of 
women (especially moms) are unique. Two more spaces for you to check out, 
for inspiration, are The Wing in NYC and The Riveter, soon to open in 
Seattle. The Wing is exclusively women-only, whereas The Riveter positions 
itself as woman-focused...that's probably what we'll do.

I look forward to hearing about your progress!

Jen



On Sunday, April 9, 2017 at 3:18:31 PM UTC-5, Elizabeth Jackson wrote:
>
> Hello All, 
>
>
> I started the ground work to introduce a women-focused coworking space in 
> Prince George's County in Maryland; a suburb of Washington, DC. I have 
> pitched the coworking space to investors and county development officials 
> as I have gone far enough with my own funding and crowdfunding campaigns 
> and have secured a two-story building, insurance, and furniture on my own 
> :-). Although I have done this on my own; I have encountered a lot of 
> hesitation about this concept due to the fact that it is a women-centric 
> space. The goal is not to exclude men because we need men too, but to focus 
> on the unique needs of women led business (we will offer childcare on the 
> 1st floor and video/podcasting suites just to name a few non-traditional 
> amenities). I am often told to be "broader" but, I have done my research 
> and women entrepreneurs in this county lead the charge in opening new 
> businesses. Also, there are so many other coworking spaces that skew 
> towards male founders in the DC metro area and women often share that these 
> spaces really don't fit their needs, and a little balance would be awesome. 
> So far I have over 300 (more joining each day) women interested in joining 
> a coworking space for women (we will open up membership pre-sales in July) 
> from my meetup group and I intend to have building renovations completed on 
> the building by Fall of 2017. My intuition is telling me YES!!! but, I 
> would like to have data to validate it can be successful to those who don't 
> believe that a women-led and focused coworking space can be successful.
>
>
> Here are some examples of successful coworking spaces for women that are 
> similar to the one I am opening:
>
> Open For Business 
>
> Behind the Grind 
>
> COTERIE 
>
> HeraHub DC  
>
>
> Here are the questions I have for the group:
>
>
> Are there any metrics available that can show whether this model is 
> successful or not? 
>
> What are some of the biggest challenges to that you had to overcome?
>
>
> Best,
>
> Liz
>
>
> (Please excuse any typos) 
>
>
>

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Re: [Coworking] Re: Coworking space name

[Caner Onoglu]

Thank you Jeannie. Your message inspired me to name my coworking with
street name+Coworking, i.e. Freedom Coworking (in local
language).Coincedentally Freedom name also summarize what I want to achieve
with coworking: Freedom from renting offices, fixed costs, hiring..freedom
for innovation..

On Apr 10, 2017 14:44, "Jeannine van der Linden" <
flexkantoorkame...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I think that a name does not make or break you but havign a reason for a
> name does help in clarity in future.
>
> My busness is called "de Kamer"  which means "the room" in Dutch.  It is
> used in Dutch for many things, which gave me many punning opportunities. It
> is used for the houses of parliament (the "first kamer" is cognate of the
> US Senate and the "tweede kamer" is of the House of Representatives.  If
> you rent a place or go away to school you live "op kamers".  And there are
> some other puns which require too much explanation.
>
> Each location is named Kamer+the street number.  So in Oosterhout Kamer52
> is located on the street called Zandheuvel, at number 52. (Actually 52B but
> details). In Den Bosch it is on the Zilverenberg number 36 and is called
> Kamer36.  And so on.
>
> This means people always know where we are if they are local and can
> remember the street name.  It actually worked because one of our more
> popular searches if you dig into this stuff turns out to be "city+Kamer" or
> "Kamer in >City name<".  Also for cities we are not in; it is nice to know
> people are ambitious for me lol.
>
> If you are looking at many spaces in future, it is well to think about
> this beforehand, having some logic to the name does help in keeping things
> clear.
>
> Though we wrestled for a ridiculous amount of time over whether it should
> be "de Kamer" or "de Kamers".  we settled on the former becauwse coworkers
> identify with one, which is theirs. The do not identify with the whole
> network. Even the ones who use it a lot.
>
>
>
> On Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 8:42:48 AM UTC+2, Kevin Haggerty wrote:
>>
>> We are still searching for a name for our coworking space in Gloucester,
>> VA, and I had an idea I wanted to run by this group for feedback.
>>
>> I'm thinking either "Pulse" or "The Pulse." I did a quick Google search
>> and didn't see any other cowork spaces with this name (are there any?), and
>> I like the idea of our space representing the heartbeat of the community.
>> We're on our community's main street, so we're basically in the heart of
>> Gloucester.
>>
>> What do you guys think?
>>
>> --
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[Coworking] Re: Coworking space name

[Jeannine van der Linden]

I think that a name does not make or break you but havign a reason for a 
name does help in clarity in future.

My busness is called "de Kamer"  which means "the room" in Dutch.  It is 
used in Dutch for many things, which gave me many punning opportunities. It 
is used for the houses of parliament (the "first kamer" is cognate of the 
US Senate and the "tweede kamer" is of the House of Representatives.  If 
you rent a place or go away to school you live "op kamers".  And there are 
some other puns which require too much explanation.

Each location is named Kamer+the street number.  So in Oosterhout Kamer52 
is located on the street called Zandheuvel, at number 52. (Actually 52B but 
details). In Den Bosch it is on the Zilverenberg number 36 and is called 
Kamer36.  And so on.

This means people always know where we are if they are local and can 
remember the street name.  It actually worked because one of our more 
popular searches if you dig into this stuff turns out to be "city+Kamer" or 
"Kamer in >City name<".  Also for cities we are not in; it is nice to know 
people are ambitious for me lol.

If you are looking at many spaces in future, it is well to think about this 
beforehand, having some logic to the name does help in keeping things clear.

Though we wrestled for a ridiculous amount of time over whether it should 
be "de Kamer" or "de Kamers".  we settled on the former becauwse coworkers 
identify with one, which is theirs. The do not identify with the whole 
network. Even the ones who use it a lot.



On Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 8:42:48 AM UTC+2, Kevin Haggerty wrote:
>
> We are still searching for a name for our coworking space in Gloucester, 
> VA, and I had an idea I wanted to run by this group for feedback.
>
> I'm thinking either "Pulse" or "The Pulse." I did a quick Google search 
> and didn't see any other cowork spaces with this name (are there any?), and 
> I like the idea of our space representing the heartbeat of the community. 
> We're on our community's main street, so we're basically in the heart of 
> Gloucester.
>
> What do you guys think?
>
>

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